Glass ceiling smasher Aamilah Aswat has revealed her dream is to ride in the Grand National at Aintree.
Aswat made history last week as the first black female jockey to ride a winner in Great Britain. The 20-year-old rode Guchen to victory at Kempton on just her fourth ride under rules. The success was fitting given the horse had provided Aswat with her first ride just three months previously.
The jockey is hoping that Guchen is the first of many on the path to the Grand National. The world’s most famous steeplechase is the ultimate goal in Aswat’s career.
“That is still the dream,” Aswat said, speaking to BBC Sport. “A distant one, but still very much the dream.”
“I wouldn’t see people the same colour as me” – Aswat
The fact it has taken until 2026 for a black female rider to win a horse race in Britain shows the cultural position the sport is in.
Aswat admitted to the challenges facing jockeys like her.
“Every time I would go to Cheltenham I wouldn’t see people the same colour as me, so in that sense it was daunting.”
However, she says the people in racing have always provided support when needed, suggesting it is culture and history, rather than personalities, which are potentially standing in the way of others like her.
“All the racing community have been very supportive and nothing has held me back.”
Aswat has been a groundbreaker in her own right. That said, one of her role models, Khadijah Mellah, is who she credits as just as great an inspiration. Mellah won the Magnolia Cup, a race dedicated to amateur female riders, at Goodwood back in 2019.
“It made me believe in myself even more,” Aswat said.
Of her own role though, she appears ready to take the publicity in her stride: “It feels good for myself but hopefully inspires others. It feels nice to be a role model and make people believe in themselves.”
Bailey: “She will always be a role model”
Trainer Kim Bailey has been responsible for giving Aswat all four of her rides under rules to date. Bailey, a former Gold Cup-winning trainer, now trains in partnership with Mat Nicholls.
He has been effusive in his praise of Aswat in the early stages of her carrer.
“I take photographs of horses schooling the whole time for my owners and I’ve never had a photograph of her being out of place – that’s quite a unique thing,” Bailey reported to BBC Sport.
“It’s very, very hard for [young jockeys] to get going – 90% of the jockeys now are either sons of trainers or sons of owners who put a lot of money into the business.”
Such praise could go to a young rider’s head, but Bailey appears to have full faith that Aswat has what it takes to reach the top.
“She’s got to be strong enough to take all that and I’m pretty confident she will be able to cope with the additional attention, including potential social media abuse.
“She will always be a role model.”